BabySmooches

A small Ponggal celebration

2012-02-08T13:31:00.002+08:00

This is a delayed post. Better post this before I forget.

Three weeks back, we received an invitation from a friend to join him and his residential association community for breakfast. We didn't know what the event was about but we were glad to be part of the celebration. This is the first time, DH, kids, my mother-in-law and me experienced a Ponggal celebration up close.

This close-knitted community has initiated a first-time gathering to celebrate Ponggal at their nearby garden. We see preparation of claypots placed on stacks of bricks. There were also some coloured rice decorations on the ground and residents carefully placing wood underneath the pot which were laterlighted to "cook" the rice.

We were briefed by one of the R.A. committee that the Ponggal festival is a harvest festival celebrated by the Tamils. We were told that it is sometimes mistaken as a religious event but it is actually a thanksgiving day and a tradition that has been followed for thousand of years.

Rice were added to the claypots and cooked with milk until it overflows, symbolising bountiful harvest and wealth. We noticed some other stuffs being added into the pot and was told that they were some spices, raisins, cashew nuts, brown sugar and ghee.

Thought it was a good to understand the celebration of different cultures in a multiracial society to avoid causing embarassment and being a joke among the people like the recent happenings on how white ang pows were mistakenly given out during CNY function, on a Tamil spelling error to celebrate Thaipusam and sending a Thaipusam greetings to the Buddhists. While I believe these were unintentionally done, there should be at least some sort of review done prior to these happenings.

At the end of the day, tolerance and understanding brings a community together, bringing towards a common goal for better development and growth among the people.

CNY carousel lantern

2012-01-16T12:58:00.002+08:00

I've been on an ang pow craft making spree lately since I'm gathering some help on decorations for a Chinese New Year (CNY) party that we'll be having in approximately 2 weeks time. Due to time constraint and everybody's busy schedule, we're focussing mostly on the simple ang pow lanterns such as ang cranes, ang pow fish, ang pow fan and mini ang pow lanterns.

I decided to take a little effort last Saturday and be a little more adventurous and made something new this year since I can use it for my house first. My schedule is topsy turvy and thus, finding time to make this over the weekend was like havoc in my house with the ang pow papers all over the table and floor and getting my fingers numb from all the stapling. It's a blessing that there are so many instructions and guidelines on the web and youtube.

Over the weekend, I've made three CNY carousel lanterns. Each carousel lantern require 32 pieces of red ang pows.Thanks to Submerryn for the instructions.

Here's the results of my progress :

Folding 48 pieces of a triangle shaped design (16 pieces required per lantern, 8 for the top and 8 for the bottom). Fold until hands are tired.

Stapling 8 pieces of the ang pow together to form a "hat". Be sure to insert a gold or red string to one of the hat before closing them up together. Insert a tassel or a hanging decoration tassel on the other hat before closing that up together as well. The 2 cone-shaped hats then need to be stapled together by stapling on the folded edges.

Made another 48 pieces of this design (16 pieces required per lantern). First, folding them into half, then pinching them at the side to staple the middle part of both sides together to look like a little butterfly bow. That's when my 2nd finger on my right started getting a little numb and swollen.

After finishing the previous step, we have to staple all 16 pieces together like these. Looks cute huh? Like a milipede or something.

Close up the 16 pieces of the ang pows in the previous steps to form a circle. We'll need to staple the circle to the edge of the 2 cone-shaped hats.

Tah Dah! My 3 lanterns - 2 outside my house and one inside.

Of sperms, eggs and balls...

2012-01-12T22:15:00.007+08:00

I was sitting on my notebook with Brendan (age 8+) beside me doing his homework while Eryn (age 6 1/2) was reading a book.

Suddenly, this conversation came up :

Eryn : mummy, my egg is here right? (pointing below her belly button)

Mummy : Huh?

Eryn : There, you see, (pointing to a kids Biology book, as per picture below),

this is an egg.

Brendan : Oh, I know, it's where the sperm swims towards the egg.

Mummy : *eyes big big* (double) HUH?!

Oh well, and that’s how I realised I had to get started on my basic introduction about the birds and the bees. I asked if they really know what are the sperms and eggs for and this is how to conversation went on :

Eryn : The sperm is in the boy’s kukubird

Brendan : Ya, and the egg is inside the girl’s body.

Mummy : Yes, and when the sperm meets the egg, you can have a baby.

And it is very important that you must understand.

And then, the conversation got really funny :

Brendan : How can the sperm go to the egg? The sperm is in my 'kukubird' lah.

Eryn : Hahahahaha......

Brendan : So, you better don’t touch my sperm. Actually, the sperm is my two balls.

Mummy : *eyes rolling and controlling laughter*

Eryn : You see this book (pointing to the picture below), sperm plus egg equals

baby in the womb.

Brendan : Mummy, do you know that it is very dangerous if a boy only has one ball?

He can die one you know.

Oh well, that’s all on the so-called basic sex education. This was really getting nowhere. Besides, I was so tired to be able to do any proper explanation as it was nearing bed time for the kids.

This is the cover of the book. A very, very good book which I bought in the last Big, Bad Wolf sale. It covers mostly on the human body and the kids learnt a lot from there.

Aloe vera jelly drink

2012-01-08T14:27:00.001+08:00

I noticed that the big, fat, aloe vera plant in my backyard has tilted while I was pulling out the weeds in the other pots. When I tried to put it back up straight, the bottom stem broke.

And so, I had to think of what to do with it. I kept some in the fridge and used some to make an aloe vera dessert drink. I remember drinking it at an aunt's place but had no idea how to prepare it at all.
So, I just make do with what I have in my fridge and boiled longan aloe vera jelly drink. Hubby says it taste good, except that it's not sweet enough for him.

My m.i.l. used it all the time to rub it on her face which she says contribute to her smooth skin. I have to admit that her skin looks good though. My mum says it's good for the hair and for burns and cuts on skin. So, I'll probably use those in my fridge for my sensitive skin. I use to hate aloe vera 'cos the sap cause itchiness to my skin. But the fat ones in the fridge should be good cos the flesh is thick and it's easy for me to cut the hard, green skin to avoid the remove the sap which is excreted just under the hard skin.

Here's my simplified recipe for the aloe vera jelly drink :

Ingredients : aloe vera (remove the hard skin and only take the gel-like texture), dried longans, red dates, pandan leaves and honey rock sugar. I added another a piece of one type of herb (kept a lot of it in my fridge) which I do not know the name. Amount to be used are in estimated amount.

Method : Boil the longans, dates and pandan leaves for about half an hour for the flavour to be out before adding in the aloe vera and continue simmer for another 10-15 minutes to remove the slimy texture from the aloe vera. Add rock sugar before turning off fire. I prefer to cool it down and drink it chilled.

Eryn enters primary one

2012-01-05T10:48:00.002+08:00

It is now Eryn's turn to go to primary school. She seems pretty excited and knowing that she can cope well, I didn't feel so stressed up preparing her for her first day of school yesterday.

Brendan used to be an extremely shy boy but he was ok when he was in standard one. So, Eryn will definitely be ok too.

I went to school during Eryn's recess time yesterday, thinking that I was half hour early, but found that the standard one children were already queueing up, preparing to go back to their classrooms. I had bought chocolate milk for the kids and only managed to pass to Brendan. Luckily Eryn finished the bread I packed for her this morning.

During Brendan's time in standard one, there were a total of 11 classes compared to Eryn's year at only 6 classes this year. It's still chaotic though cos all the kids looks alike from the side or from the back in the standard blue and white uniform. I could only locate Eryn when I located her class queue. Even that also I found that she looked different as I've just cut her hair two days before school starts.

With Eryn being in the second batch of the new KSSR syllabus, I hope she can cope well in school. She can't reach much of chinese yet, as compared to Brendan.

This is the part and parcel of many parents' life when their kids enter school. Always a new phase as we go along our journey in life.

The standard one crowded during recess time.

Taken during school orientation day on 30th Dec 2011.

Another new year though it seems like yesterday that I......

2012-01-03T11:36:00.004+08:00

It's the beginning of another new year and it's always that time of the year when I wish for a better year.

As I reflect back past memories, I feel and see so many things in my life, past and current.

I've now matured a lot. Tremendously in fact. I'm now a mother of two school-going children though it seems like only yesterday that I was a teenage girl, hanging out with friends and enjoying single life. And being single now means having my own personal time with my other half and my two 'creations', that means doing things as a family in most of our daily life.

I now pant and run out of breath when I run with the kids at the park. My body aches, my head turns when I get not enough sleep and I feel tired after a day out hiking. It seems like it was only yesterday when I was actively into sports and even represented the school in some sports. I ran the 100m sprint, took part in long jump, high jump, relay, netball and trained in the hot sun and rain. Sleeping late didn't give me problems the next day. now, it seems I'm contented sitting under the fan, reading a book or magazine or just surfing the net.

And speaking of surfing the net, it used to be lots of social media activities, getting to know new friends, oblivious to the term "danger" and chatting and looking at girlish stuffs. That seems like yesterday too but now, I've developed an interest in reading REAL news, on economic update and markets and reading technical charts, forgetting that accounting was one of my hated subject in college.

And speaking of danger, it seems like yesterday when me, my siblings and cousins, went out to play in my grandparent's kampung. We climbed mango trees, attempted to go up the rambutan trees, played hide and seek in the bushes and behind huge trees, catching spiders in pandan bushes and 'catching' fish in the huge drain nearby. We ran all over the kampung, without any fear of kidnapping or of strangers around. Now, I forbid my kids to do the things I used to do. Crime is a big worry nowadays, almost unheard of in my childhood days. We were happy kids without the computer, watching less tv, practically no toys as we DIY our own toys. Our childhood games was one filled with board games, playing bottle caps, home-sewn 'five-stones', and lots of outdoor games like hide-and-seek, police-and-thief, galah panjang and traditional games unheard of.

Lately, my boy is engrossed in his Plants-vs-Zombies game, influenced by his father during the recent school holidays. My girl, on the other hand, is into her whole list of Barbie movies.

On a personal level, I've taken bold steps to 'try' to go into a more flexi-job. The 'try' turned out to be a great. I never realised that taking the leap to leave the corporate world and the monotonous working life changed my view of the many things happening around. No more hearing of the bitching and backstabbing and complains. As someone said this many moons back, if you don't like it, stop complaining if you want to continue to be where you are, or just CHANGE if you can't stop complaining.

Oh well, too much ranting already. Feels so quiet now that the kids are out with their friends at the daycare centre. It had been a hectic and noisy school holiday and the sudden change makes me pause in my steps, feeling a little lost as to what I should be doing.

I should get back into my routine. Gotta move my butt now.

Happy New Year 2012 to all and cheers to a wonderful and lovely year ahead!!

Some of the shots taken during the Christmas season last month.

Bye Hong Kong!

2011-12-04T00:21:00.001+08:00

We had the opportunity to go for a steamboat dinner in Tsim Tsa Tsui the night before we flew back to Malaysia. Hubby's friend, a Hong Kong resident, has been to Malaysia numerous times and will always meet up with hubby. When hubby told him that we would be going to Hong Kong, he had been in touch with hubby prior to our trip to make arrangement to meet up.

So, he set up a steamboat dinner gathering for us together with his wife and brother. Chanel and family joined us as well.

We scheduled to meet at 7pm that night in Tsim Tsa Tsui MTR station and then walked over to the restaurant. We ate until the restaurant was about to close at around 10.30pm.

Hubby's place has made booking at this steamboat restaurant called Son Tung Kee Restaurant in Tsim Tsa Tsui even before we went to Hong Kong. I love their appetiser which is fried fish skin. It was very crispy like keropok. They started serving the condiments which we were to add in heaps to a bowl. There were finely chopped chilli, celery, parsley, garlic and sauce. Hubby's friend has booked us a private room which we had just to ourselves.

There were lots of thinly sliced beef which we dipped into the hot soup. The raw dishes kept coming and coming. There were dumplings, fish paste tauhu, scallops, huge oysters, fish and some sort of sea stuffs which expands to a rather big size after cooked in the soup. The sweet corn came in last and they were extremely sweet that we ate quite a lot of it even though we were already full. The soup has century eggs in it. Something quite different.

There were orders for a big plate of a rather big fish, all sliced up for the steamboat and a plate of scallops.

This is what I ate. A scallop. Some sea creature which hubby said is some sort of "spare parts" (internal organs) from some seashell of some sort. It was kinda chewy, and not too bad actually. But the thought of eating something unknown kind of makes me stop eating another piece. There was another parts from another kind of sea creature which was a little harder to chew with rougher texture. Eryn didn't like hers, so I ate two pieces. Again, it didn't taste bad, just that I have no inkling to what that was.

See the huge scallop? It's bigger than my soup spoon. We ate more sliced beef and fish paste tauhu than anything else. Oh, and lots of vegetables too. The dumpling doesn't look like the ones we have over here, so that was a little different for me too.

I love the beef, sweet corn and the sugarcane juice the most. Brendan enjoyed dipping the beef in the soup more than eating the food while Eryn loved her sweet corn and chocolate pudding dessert.

We wanted to go dutch but hubby's friend has already made early payment and treated us to this sumptuous meal. Some of us have to wear out jackets to eat as it was really freezing cold in the room. Why did they turn on the air-con in full blast? Brrrr......

This is actually our breakfast at Citygate on the day we were to leave for the airport.

We went to Citygate to do some last minute shopping as the factory outlets there were having some sale. Hubby got a real good bargain for two pairs of Puma shoes at HKD549. I wished I have more time to shop for clothes.

Hubby is now eyeing to visit Hong Kong again for their major sale, just two of us, for a short shopping trip. Now, that question is "IF" we ever go there again. Hubby's friend had already sent a message to hubs a day after we were back in Malaysia to ask us when we can meet up in Hong Kong again.

Kids waiting at the departure hall in Hong Kong International airport.

Brendan and Eryn enjoying the MAS kids' meal on the plane. Brendan was so engrossed in his games while Eryn was laughing away watching Spy Kids and some cartoons.

It's nice to be back to Malaysia. Now, back to life. Doing the mountain pile of laundry was crazy. I had to go for 6 rounds of it. The holiday was fun. The after-effect is not.

It was a great time we had. It was real fun to travel with another family too. Chanel, it was a pleasure to have a holiday with you.

HK : Stanley Market and The Peak

2011-12-03T13:41:00.002+08:00

Stanley Market and Victoria Peak are both located in Hong Kong Island. We initially scheduled to go to these two places together on the same day, but due to Mongkok street markets not opened early in the morning, we push our Stanley Market visit earlier. It was good also in a way, as we would not have to rush for our trip to Victoria Peak.

Stanley Market is a nice place for a stroll and for shopping of little souveniors. There seems to be a lot of expatriates chilling out at the restaurants and at the market here.

There are ample spaces for kids to run about. We see little mat salleh kids playing football and skateboarding around the area. The area is full with buzz. There is actually nothing much to do but it is a good place to just chill out, have a cup of coffee and enjoy the nice sea view. There are lots of knick knacks in the stalls located in Stanley Market for those who are keen to buy stuffs back as gifts.

Since we didn't do much shopping around, we spent quite some time at the waterfront while waiting for Chanel and family. We love the fresh air here.

A view from the waterfront where we were hanging out.

Apparently, this place is considered slightly middle to upper class and there are lots of villas and high-end condos as you travel along the long and windy road from Central bus terminus to Stanley Market. The seaview is simply breathtaking.

One of the bus route we took from our double decker bus. Tall buildings are everywhere around us.

The lower portion of our double decker bus. The buses here are very clean, so unlike in Malaysia. In fact, the public toilets are also very clean. You don't see wet floors and rubbish in the toilet or on the MTR and buses. Punctuality is a norm and bus schedules are always on the dot.

MTR stations are always packed with people. From Skycity Marriott, we took the hotel shuttle to Tung Chung MTR, and thereafter to Hong Kong Station MTR. From there, we walked over to the connecting link to Central MTR and to the Central Exchange bus terminus. Everything is so systematic and you don't have to worry about being a stranger in this unfamiliar territory. MTR and bus bus signages, signboards on bus stops gives you clear directions.

You don't have to worry about getting lost in Hong Kong. However, I have to say that the people from the mainland can be quite a rude lot. Young or old, they talk very loudly and pay no heed to manners by lining up in queues in MTR, buses and especially in queueing up for rides in Disneyland and Ocean Park. They'll push you and cut you just to be in front regardless of who you are. That is one part I just don't seem to understand. We even came across a family stealing strollers in Disneyland Park and chuck them aside when they don't need it.

Chanel had to experiece this herself as we go hunting for her stroller. We later found it in another place.

We maintain our Victoria Peak itinerary for the last full day we were in Hong Kong. We were supposed to take a bus but found out that we can actually walk via Chater Garden to the Peak Tram Lower Terminus from Central MTR station exit towards Admiralty via Hong Kong Park.

We walked through Chater Garden, stopping by to use the toilet and enjoy the garden view. There were some sort of some foreign Filipino domestic workers gathering there. As it was a Sunday, we believe they were out on their off day,strolling and hanging out in the park and catching up with friends. You see some group playing cards, some games, or simply just chatting away or hooked up on the internet.

Eryn wanted a photo with the beautiful flowers in Chater Garden and so, she smiled for the camera.

Down at the Peak Tram Lower Terminus, the queue was rather long. I think it took us around 20-30 minutes. The sun was quite glaring on this day and so, the kids went to hide under the shade just beside the water fountain.

The water feature is beautiful. It can at least entertain us for a while while waiting to purchase tickets. If you're visiting Madame Tussaud, it would be good if you get the package deal for Sky Pass, The Sky Terrace and Madame Tussaud. Otherwise, buying the entry tickets separately when you're up at The Peak, will be a little bit more expensive.

After getting our Peak tram sky passes, it takes another 20 minutes or so, queueing up to board the tram. We have to wait for the third round due to the huge crowd. The Peak tram is one of the world's oldest funicular railways.

It's a rather steep climb up The Peak in the tram. If you're going up hill, be sure to choose to sit on the right hand side as you may get to see some nice views along the way.

A big heart-shaped deco at The Sky Terrace, the highest 360 degrees vewing terrace in Hong Kong. We're about 1,300 feet above sea level!

There are actually two heart-shaped deco! A pink and a purple one. So sweet!!

The kids love the windy place here. The panaromic view of Hong Kong is simply marvellous.

Going back down the building filled with lots of shops and cafes.

The love panaromic view brings some sort of a wonderful feeling.

From another angle, we can actually see a harbour somewhere near Kowloon area.

The Peak Tower is the iconic landmark in Hong Kong. Apparentely, it is the most stylish architectural icon with a dazzling array of restaurants, shopss and the viewing terrace.

The garden outside The Peak Galleria is a fun place for dogs. We saw a big group of pet owners and their dogs on their special outing.

Do take note that eating, drinking and smoking is not allowed in the tram or in any public transports in Hong Kong or you'll get a hefty fine.

We get to see alot of double decker rail trams around this area. We didn't get a chance to hop on one though.

You'll need approximately half a day at The Peak and half a day in Stanley Market if you plan to visit these two places.

Hong Kong : Mongkok, Avenue of Stars

2011-12-02T23:35:00.002+08:00

We went to Mongkok early in the morning but most of the street markets are only opened in the afternoon onwards. So, we detoured to Stanley Market on our 4th day and came back to Mongkok street market the following day.

Anyway, this post will be focusing on the Avenue of Stars at Tsim Tsa Tsui area and on Mongkok, spreaded over two days in scattered visits. More photos ahead.

The Avenue of Stars is located at the Tsim Tsa Tsui waterfront at Victoria Harbour. It looks very much like the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but here it gives acknowledgement to the Hong Kong movie industry.

The famed bronze statue of Bruce Lee. We walked from the statuette in search of Bruce Lee's statue and along the way we see lots of plaques embedded on the floor with the famous celebrities' hand prints and names on them.

Cuttlefish snack before dinner. It's very tasty!

Met up with Jazz and her kids to go for dinner in Tsim Tsa Tsui. We decided on Avenue of Stars as the meeting point. Here, the kids posed with their kungfu panda poses at the Avenue Of Stars. They clicked on very well upon meeting.

We walked back to the food court in Sogo to have dinner. Since there were no place to sit and we didn't want to wait too long for an empty table, we decided to 'tapao' food to bring back to the deck at the Avenue of Stars to eat while waiting for the Symphony of Lights show to start. And while the hungry kids are waiting, they sat down on the floor in the food court and have their story-telling and i-pod sessions.

The Symphony of Lights was kinda of boring and the kids were feeling rather restless. Faythe and Brendan starting chatting all the way right after dinner until the end of the show, not into the laser lights show at all. The breeze here is rather strong. I felt kind of cold while everyone seems to be enjoying the cold air.

View across the river at the Avenue of Stars. The night scene is just so nice. Some of the buildings actually have beautiful, Christmassy light decos on them. I think that's somewhere in Central across the river.

The night scene taken from another angle.

After Symphony of Lights, we headed to Mongkok by MTR to have dessert! We went for the yummilicious steamed milk in Yee Shun Milk Company. In the MTR, we quickly take the opportunity to take a group photos with the mummies and kids. What a funny sight, scrambling to get those active kids together on the MTR for this shot.

Mmmm........ I love the steamed milk with ginger juice. I'm salivating just thinking about it. Brendan opt for the plain steamed milk which is equally yummy. Taste just like fresh cow milk. Eryn went for their steamed egg which is also very nice. I really love this place. If you're a milk lover like me and kids, do make time to go for this. Thank you, Jazz, for the dessert treat.

There is a wide range of dessert and food at the Yee Shun Milk Company. The ones we had were highly recommended by Jazz.

Outside view of Yee Shun Milk Company taken in the morning. We were there quite early and came across this place while we were walking around in Mongkok for breakfast. I've done some research and read about this place and was dying to try the steamed milk there. However, luck wasn't on our side as the place was only opened at 11am. No regrets though, cos we actually went back there for supper. Yum! Yum!

Backtrack a bit. For breakfast, we wanted to have breakfast in Kam Wah cafe but it was kind of packed. I've read that this place is famous for their polo bun. Since we didn't want to wait too long, we decided to take-away some buns and egg tarts to eat.

There are lots of things to see in Mongkok. There's a street for electrical items, a street for all the toilet stuffs, a street for food, a street for sports equipments, women clothings, toys, snacks, etc. Basically, it's like a one stop shopping area. We didn't really buy anything much but do hope to be back again during the big sale to really shop properly some day.

There's something about Hong Kong and beef noodles. The beef noodles here are just simply delicious. The texture of the beef, the wantan noodles and the soup are somehow perfect. Hubby loves the beef noodles a lot that we ate this 3 times during our whole stay in Hong Kong. I love the beef tendon and the kids will go for the beef balls.

The bill for one of our lunch for the three bowls of beef noodles.

A typical scene around Mongkok area. The streets are filled with lots of signboards, lots of people and tons and tons of things to see. Be careful with your belonging and kids as the crowd at Mongkok can be quite congested.

There seems to be a long queue for this "kai dan zhai" aka little egg waffle. We decided to join in the queue to see what's so special about this. We didn't try to "kai zhai dan" but opt for the waffle pancake which is really delicious. The kids wanted more. This little stall is located somewhere in Mongkok opposite Gala Place.

I saw lots of people standing beside a van and decided to "kepo" and take a look at what is happening. People are surrounding this pretty lady to take photos with her and to get her autograph. I took a photo and asked hubby's Hong Kong friends (who we were to meet for dinner on our last night during this trip) who was this lady. It's funny to hear that none of hubby's 3 friends know her. Anyone knows who she is?

This shot is taken the following night at the clock tower near the Kowloon Public Pier at Tsim Tsa Tsui.

Hong Kong : Ocean Park (25-11-2011)

2011-12-02T00:45:00.008+08:00

We initially scheduled Ocean Park to be on a Sunday, but due to the Christmas season approaching and also Malaysia's and Singapore's school holidays, we anticipated there to be a big crowd on weekends. We pushed forward Ocean Park to a Friday but it turned out that the place is really packed!

Entry passes to Ocean Park is marked with Ocean Park's animals. I think the passes in Hong Kong are always so colourful and cute. Upon arrival, we found the wind to be quite strong. The weather is fine for the day. Nice day to walk around and explore the park. This park is definitely bigger than Hong Kong Disneyland.

After getting the park maps and schedule for showtime, Uncle Othniel and little Brendan started scrutinising the maps. While Disneyland itinerary was mostly mapped out by Chanel and myself, Ocean Park's highlights was practically marked by the guys. Unfortunately, most of the rides are more suitable for older kids.

We started by taking the cable car up to The Summit where most of the "chee-kek" rides are. For us, the main focus at The Summit will be the marine mammals show at the Ocean Theatre. There are tons of rides like the crazy roller coaster rides, Flying Swing, The Abyss, Eagle, and many more. I would have love all this if I'm still a teenager, however now, I'd rather just standby and watch. Some of the rides at The Summit are not for the faint hearted. My kids would love to go for it if not for the age and height requirement. Oh, thank goodness. haha.

Taking the cable car up to The Summit. You get spectacular views of Ocean Park Waterfront and overlooking Ocean Park's area.

The top left picture here is actually many, many toys vending machines. Just so many of them to tempt young kids. Here, we see Eryn posing with a Mermaid and the kids taking the kiddish train ride "Toto The Loco". The kids got excited and posted inside the huge teeth. Err..... I don't know what species that would be. A shark, maybe?

The marine mammals and trainers show at the Ocean Theatre. The dolphins are such fine creatures. They're a sight to behold. The kids were thrilled in seeing a real sea lion and was amazed at their huge sizes!

One of the two major giddy roller coaster rides in Ocean Park. Just looking at this from the top of the Ferris Wheel makes my tummy churn. Can't imagine going through this. The previous day's Space Mountain ride in Hong Kong Disneyland made me feel like puking. This would probably make be faint. This ride was close though. We later found out that another monsterous roller coaster ride was located near the Raging River ride. Apparently, this roller coaster ride was not in the Ocean Park map. Must be something new, I think.

View from the gondola on the top of the Ferris Wheel.

The interesting looking train called the "Ocean Express" which we took from The Summit to get back to The Waterfront. This ride is so much more faster compared to the cable car. The train resemble a submersible machine. It's a little dark in there and it looks like we are riding in the sea, with videos of the sea above us, on the ceiling of the train.

The Ocean Express Summit Station looks really cool.

Kids love this place. Nice place to just walk around and 'lepak' too. It's not really that cold. Heard that the summer heat can be a hindrance. So, make sure you plan your trip during November which I think would be a good time to go.

More fun stuffs to see and do. Those cute jellyfish keychain are so cute.

Hey, what am I doing with 6 kids on the Frog Hopper ride? hahaha.... Well, for each ride, only one adult is allowed and therefore, I'm the "chosen" one. Looks like a kiddish ride, but you can see the kids' faces that the hopping can make your heart skip a beat or two!

The panda bears we saw. Managed to take one during feeding time. The rest were sleeping. The picture below the panda pictures is Brendan and Jeriel with Ocean Park's mascot.

The Grand Aquarium is amazing. There are tons and tons of fishes and sea animals and lots and lots of sharks swimming around. Here, we see colourful sea cucumbers, starfish, a sea dragon and squids. There are many other other fishes as well swimming in huge aquariums. There's even big snow crabs and a very, very huge sand shark that looked bigger than a human! The photo we took of it wasn't that clear, so am not posting it here.

Little baby sharks swimming around in one of the tanks

Sharks, sting rays, fishes, swimming in one of the tanks in the Grand Aquarium, Ocean Park.

"Symbio!" -a multi-media nighttime spectacular 360° water screen show at the Aqua City Lagoon in Ocean Park, Hong Kong

Hong Kong Disneyland (24-11-2011)

2011-12-01T22:43:00.012+08:00

The following day after our arrival, we went to Hong Kong Disneyland. Although it was a Thursday, it was quite crowded.

We got our cute Disneyland entry passes. It was such a nice and sunny day.

Disneyland, here we come! Ya, feel shy only, to say that this is my first Disneyland trip too.

Right in the middle of Main Street lies a tall Christmas tree. Everything in here is so fun and colourful.

The front and back view of the Disneyland Rail Station near the entrance of Hong Kong Disneyland. We took the train ride to Fantasyland as our first itinerary of the day.

Goofy, Minnie and Mickey Mouse joined us for a ride on Dumbo The Flying Elephant too!

See the boarding pass? That will be given while you are queueing up for the Dumbo The Flying Elephant Ride which will be collected once you're in the Dumbo ride.

In a rush to go for a show, we saw Tinkerbell!! Unfortunately, we didn't have time to stop by and take a photo with her. In fact, we didn't have the chance to snap a photo together with any of the Disney characters due to the long queue which I think can take at least 20 minutes.

The newly opened Toy Storyland. We didn't manage to go for any of the rides here. Brendan wanted to go on the Slinky Dog but we had to negotiate with him for other rides as we had to rush for The Golden Mickey Show. Most shows require you to be present 30 minutes before showtime.

We queued up for about half hour for this Soldier Parachute Jump before decided to call it quits. We didn't want to miss our Golden Mickey Show and therefore, we didn't manage to experience this new ride in Disneyland. I think the queue is easily 45 minutes long.

The Golden Mickey Show!! This was the show that made us missed the rides in Toy Storyland. It's one of the main shows and it's truly a remarkable performance they have there. Not to be missed.

Beauty and the Beast dance performance. Sooooo romantic.

The casts from The Golden Mickey Show - you definitely won't miss the main characters like Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Stitch, the characters from Toy Storyland, Belle and many more.

Colourful balloons that lights up at night!

Flights of the Fantasy Parade is a must to see. It is only shown once a day in the afternoon and therefore, it would be good to grab a good place prior to the parade to get a clear, good view of the whole parade. Dumbo The Elephant was the first car parade to show up .

Winnie the Pooh and friends. Tigger and Eeyore are so cute!!

It's amazing to see people strapped to harnesses springing up and down. They're the tiny little "bees" jumping on the trampoline.

The Lion King and jungle characters

Lilo and Stitch

Tinkerbell and cute little ferries on little lady bug cars

Disney princesses.

One of the "fairy" pulled out some kids from the crowd to have a dance in the parade.

Toy Storyland toy characters. They look just like the ones in the cartoons, except that these ones are bigger than humans instead of the other way round.

One of the happening area : Tomorrowland. A warning for those who are afraid of fast roller coaster. Avoid Space Mountain. It will drive you crazy. Brendan and his friend, Jeriel, went for two rounds. Chanel and I went in without thinking and came out 'mabuk' for a while. hehehehe...We screamed our heads off. Well, literally.

Wooooo.... I love the castle at sunset. It's so beautiful!!

We visited the toilet a lot in Disneyland. Apparently, the fever Eryn developed was due to her stomach pain and diarrhoea. She practically visited the ladies every hour and kept complaining of stomach ache. What an adventure. Sigh!

The fastpass machine. This prints out the fastpass tickets for faster entry into three of the rides in the park i.e. Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Space Mountain and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. This saves you lots of time as you can always come back at the stipulated time with minimal queueing time.

Day and night scene for "It's A Small World". So pretty right?

Different illuminations at night at the castle. I'm in dreamland.......

One of the photo taken in "It's A Small World". Most of the other photos taken are not so clear.

Such a wonderful sight!

We spent some time lingering at Main Street at closing time. It was "snowing" and we had fun in the snow and looking at the almost empty street while waiting for friends to finish shopping.

Cheerful mood after Hong Kong Disneyland. All feeling extremely tired, especially Eryn who went to the toilet more than a dozen times!! We actually spent approximately 12 hours in Disneyland (^--^)

Taking the MTR train from Disneyland to Sunny Bay for transit to Tung Chung. From Tung Chung, we had to take a commuter bus. It was too late to take the hotel shuttle from Disneyland, and Tung Chung too. I love those Mickey windows and the Mickey handrails on the train. So, it's worth spending more time back in Disneyland and miss the hotel shuttle. At least this would be an interesting experience for the kids.

Here are some snippets of some videos taken in Hong Kong Disneyland :

Fireworks in Hong Kong Disneyland

The Golden Mickey Show

Festival of the Lion King Show

The Toy Soldier Parachute Jump at the newly opened Toy Storyland. The queue for this ride is tremendously long.

Hong Kong vacation 23rd-28th Nov. 2011

2011-12-01T20:44:00.003+08:00

We recently took the kids to Hong Kong for our first ever family overseas trip. We have kept this a secret from the kids until the night before we were to fly.

When I took the kids to make their passport two weeks earlier, they asked what is a passport and after explaining it to them, they asked why do they need the passport.

We went together with Chanel and her family. It started when Chanel called sometime in July (I think) to ask whether I'm keen to go for family trip to Hong Kong together. It was quite a rush decision at that point of time and after discussing with hubby, we decided to go for it. We were lucky that we got extremely good rates to stay in Hong Kong Skycity Marriott Hotel at a fraction of the actual cost.

A quick check with hubby's Enrich points showed that he has some points expiring in December this year and is good for a one way trip for two adults. However, buying the tickets for the kids separately is quite costly. We took Air Asia there and came back with MAS. The rates we got for Air Asia were considered quite expensive too. Oh well, you can't have it all.

Thus, began the journey of lots of planning and researching on our itinerary for a 6 days 5 nights trip, or rather, a full 4 days trip as the first and last days were our arrival and departure days.

Kids eating french fries while waiting for our hotel shuttle at the Hong Kong International Airport. Noticed the mask below Eryn's mouth? Upon arrival, Eryn was diagnosed as having fever at 39.5c. We were called to fill in some forms and and interview to check on the symptoms for bird blu. Gosh, that was really a bad start for us cos we've just arrived Hong Kong. The airport health authorities told us that if Eryn's fever is not down below 37c, we'll have to see a doctor and give him the airport health check-up slip.

Our 6 days 5 nights stay in the 5-star Hong Kong Skycity Marriott Hotel. The room is quite big with two double bed and a sofa too. What a pleasant stay we have there. Which was also the reason why we forgo staying a night in Hong Kong Disneyland Resort which would have cost us at least 4-5 times I believe.

Brendan and Eryn looking out from our hotel window the next morning (day 2). We have arrived Hong Kong at night around 8:20pm and by the time we reached the hotel after the health interview, buying kids' paracetamol and a quick dinner, it was almost 11pm. Eryn didn't have a good sleep, kept tossing and turning due to her fever. As Chanel as arrived earlier than us, she had dinner with Jazz, who was kind to pass over her daughter's, Faythe's unopen bottle of fever medicine from Malaysia. I kept getting up because of Eryn and only manage a total of four hours sleep.

The cards on the left are Octopus cards for two adults and two children. If you are visiting Hong Kong for a few days and plan to travel around a lot, the Octopus card is extremely convenient to use. The card on the right is our Hong Kong Skycity Marriott room card.

Will continue to blog and post more photos on our Hong Kong trip later on.

My baby girl

2011-11-03T10:48:00.005+08:00

Little Korean Princess.

It's around this time of the year that kindys have their school concert. Eryn had hers last month. She looks demure dancing a very beautifully choreographed Korean dance.

I see Eryn dancing at home in front of the mirror all the time, saying that she has to dance well since she's standing at the front.They have practiced for months.

In the earlier practices, Eryn complaint that she's not keen in the dance as it's boring and it's so repetitive. Part of the kindy schedule for the second half was having a dance practice slot almost every day. She was clearly bored.

As time passes and the timing between the girls were perfected, they were then introduced the fans which sparked up the interest in practicing harder.She stood at the front, just like her last concert, and performed the dance extremely well with her group of little 'korean princesses'.

My baby girl is no longer a baby. She's grown into a little girl with a mind of her own. Just can't imagine that she'll be entering primary one next year. It is really hard to imagine how 6 years have flown by just like that.

Decaying human values

2011-10-21T13:14:00.003+08:00

The news on the little two year old girl in China created a huge outcry all over the world. It is just so sad to know that that little girl has died.

Being hit twice, and left to die on the road, with the TOTAL ignorance by 18 passers-by definitely is not something you can really imagine.

Humans are getting smarter, and sadly, more self-centred, greedy and lacking in moral values nowadays. This kind of news sadden me, and while questions are being pointed at the huge populated and developing country, I'd have to say that this applies to everywhere else in the world, including our country.

True human values are decreasing and even if they do, the main priorities are to "take care of my own rice bowl first" and not giving a damn at other people.

May you rest in peace, little Yue..

Stretch Hummer

2011-10-03T13:12:00.001+08:00

Can't resist posting this Hummer I saw. I actually came down from the car just to take this pic.

Such a beauty!

"Khao Jam" (Nasi Kerabu)

2011-08-01T17:40:00.004+08:00

"Khao Jam" ('kao jam'), or locally known as nasi kerabu, is a famous Kelantanese/Thai rice dish which is extremely healthy. Apparently, it helps to keep the body "warm" and is known to be good for people under confinement after delivery or those whose body are prone to chills and rheumatism.

Recently, my MIL and hubby's aunt was down from their kampung (village) in Kelantan and stayed in our house for a week. They brought along lots and lots of fresh herbs and vegetables and frozen bags of dark green coloured water. The greens are totally fresh and free from pesticides.

The "khao jam" rice is actually made from the juice and blended herbs of more than a dozen herbs in Kelantan. I was told that you can't get it anywhere else except in Kelantan. Some of hubby's aunts make the most authentic "khao jam". They get their supply of fresh herbs and vegetables from a friend who collects the herbs which are mostly grown in his own backyard and some collected in the wild. The herbs have to be pre-ordered to allow time for the farm owner to pick and choose the leaves for you.

When I asked hubby's aunt what are the types of herbs used, she gave me names which are totally alien to me. She says that she doesn't even know how to describe it to me as it requires special knowledge to pluck the kind of leaves and herbs together. There used to be a time when people would use approximately 100 types of herbs to extract the juice.

"Khao" actually means rice in Thai while "jam" is the blended mixtures of all the herbs and vegetables. It's a Kelantanese favourite with thai influence and is totally different from the coloured rice that you normally see in the normal nasi kerabu which is sometimes made from a type of blue flower or added with colouring. The taste is totally different and cannot be compared with the normal nasi kerabu that you normally get in malay restaurants. Our friends who recently tried this for the first time, went for a second helping. It kind of boost your appetite and makes you want to eat more.

How do I describe it? It's extremely fragrant and appetising. Hubby's aunt used the blended herbs and juices extracted from it and cook it with the rice like how you cook normal rice. She would also add in some daun limau purut (kaffir lime leaves), pandanus leaves and some gula melaka (palm sugar) on top of it for extra fragrance.

For the fresh vegetables, it is extremely important to use pesticide free vegetables. The chopping of the vegetable into fine pieces can be quite tedious. So, be prepared for a few hours of preparation.

For our preparation of our "khao jam" last night, we used the following fresh and raw vegetables which are mostly chopped finely, except for the beans :

normal petai (smelly green bean in pods)
baby petai (this has tons of health benefits!)
jering (a type of bean which is slightly bigger than petai but with a much lesser stinky smell)
daun kesum (a kind of fragrant leaves)
serai (lemongrass)
bunga kantan (torch ginger flower)
small raw mango
taugeh (beansprouts)
small bittergourd (this has tons of health benefits too!)
cucumber
onions
young jantung pisang (banana flower)

You may also add in long beans, daun pegaga (pennywort) and other type of ulams (raw vegetables and herbs).

Over and above that, we added these :

fish flakes (we use ikan kembung)
kerisik (grated coconut that is briefly pan fried for the crispiness
budu sauce (fermented fish sauce)

Budu sauce is widely used in east coast dishes. We added chopped chilli padi (bird's eye chillis), shallots and lime juice for the extra kick. However, be warned never to watch how the budu sauce is made in those small "factory huts" as you'll find it pretty disgusting and a big turn-off. haha... It is extremely salty, so watch the salt intake.

Here are some pictures to whet your appetite.

colourful types of fresh, raw vegetables - such a pretty sight!

"khao jam" rice - cooked with more than a dozen types of blended herbs together with the juice extracted from it. The picture above here is a big rice cooker pot cooked for 15 people.

check out the budu sauce (top right), baby petai (top left), fish soup cooked in asam gelugor, green chillis and onions (middle left) and stir-fry chicken with petai (bottom left).

Brendan's value of money

2011-07-26T00:34:00.002+08:00

As I watch my kids grow day by day, I am reminded of their uniqueness and the special personality in them. They never fail to amaze me with surprises every now and then.

When it comes to money, I've come to realise that Brendan will be someone who would be very careful with his money. He doesn't really know how big the value of money can grow but he can be quite frugal when it comes to money sense.

Just recently, while we were having pan mee for dinner, a salesman walked into the restaurant and showed my kids some toys.

I've always taught my kids that we should never shun these people and the least we can do is just smile and politely decline them as they've spent hours walking around shops and restaurants trying to sell their stuffs. At times, I'd kind of threaten them that they would have to resort to that if they refuse to study hard. hehehehe.

Anyway, Eryn gave the man a smile and shook her head, implying a "no" when the man showed her a toy aeroplane.

The man then walked to Brendan and showed him a car. Brendan being Brendan, just continued eating his pan mee. The man continued, "RM10 only".

Brendan blurted out "RM10?!! Soooo expensive!! I can buy 8 honey apples with RM10".

Now, I could have scolded him for answering the man, but it was really funny to see the man's reaction and we all just have to laugh at the scenario.

Just a few months back, I remember Brendan asking me to take him to the bank as he kept saying that he's got a transaction to do. I kept saying "later" until I finally asked him why did he keep asking me to take him to the bank.

He said that he's got some money to put in the bank and then I asked him how much. He replied, "RM12". I told him that he's got to have at least RM100 before he come asking me to take him to the bank as it would be a waste of petrol and time and having to pay for parking. So, I gave him a little piggy bank for him to keep his money. He said he'd rather keep it in his wallet which he kept in a special place.

And then, there was this time last year when I was planning to change car. I told the kids about the cost of living, the rate of inflation, expenses going up and we shouldn't spend on an expensive car. Brendan said, "Mummy, I want to buy you a car. Do you think RM8 can buy you a big car?" Gosh, I'm so touched. He actually took out all the money in his wallet and gave them to me. I told him a car cost more than that and we would need a 5-figure amount for that. He can't seem to comprehend anything more than a thousand, or maybe even a hundred and kept asking how do people even afford to buy a car or a house.

He doesn't get pocket money for school cos I pre-ordered food from the canteen for him, so that he doesn't have to queue and rush to eat in his 20 minutes recess. There is a coin box which I told him he can take some coins out if he needs to buy anything extra and he'd just brush it off and say he doesn't need it as the uncle in school always give him too much food.

And just a few hours ago, Brendan said, "Mummy, when my birthday comes, please don't buy me a cake. It's not good to eat too much cake right?" Oh dear!! There he goes again. So, I said, "ok, then maybe we go and celebrate over a simple dinner". He went on and said, "Ok, but don't spend too much. We should save money. Maybe we can go to Disneyland one day".

Oh! That's my boy!! He makes me want to cry for being way so sensible and matured for an eight years old boy.

Apam balik

2011-05-07T22:40:00.002+08:00

This afternoon, the kids and I decided to get into a simple cooking activity. Hubby has been asking me to make apam balik (a type of pancake with crushed peanuts and sweet corn filling) and so, being a first-timer in making apam balik, I decided that the kids should join in the fun as well. They were thrilled at the idea of having to 'play' with flour.

Here, the pictures speak for itself.

Brendan and Eryn being very serious and careful in measuring the flour and sieving flour respectively.

Brendan cracking eggs into a bowl while Eryn playing with flour.

From top left to bottom : the batter, apam balik in the making, the kids at the kitchen stove. Right : Brendan pouring water while eryn is stirring. I'm supposed to use milk instead of water but totally forgotten about it when the kitchen got messed up.

The ready to eat apam balik. It's not so fluffy like the ones sold in pasar malam but still, it is very tasty.

Brendan and Eryn enjoying their apam balik very much.

My pretty decent looking apam balik.

Happy Mother's day to all

2011-05-07T14:43:00.005+08:00

As I was picking out some pictures on random to make the heart shape card below, I suddenly felt overwhelmed with lots of emotions, in my journey to be a mother.

In a flash, I never realised that motherhood has changed me so much as a person and at the way I look at things in life. For me, to give up great careers opportunity to start fresh into something new was something I didn't knew could happen to me until I made that decision to JUST DO IT. The initial period started with lots doubts on how I was suppose to live a life without a good income and lots of benefits given to me when I was a single woman. I'm glad to have a supportive husband who encourage me to follow my heart.

Looking back, I'm glad I made the right choice. The journey may be tough, but it was one of the greatest decision I've ever made, a treasure so precious that money can't buy. I've gotten quite good in my new found career, with lots of flexibility and to lead a life many would admire. It's a continuing journey but one that I know I'm satisfied with.

My mum will always be in my thoughts but unfortunately, I'm not able to spend it with her this year as it's Brendan's school exam week. As I prepare my card, my thoughts go out to those struggling and single mothers, SAHM mothers who stressed themselves to give the best for their children, WAHM mothers who work to contribute to the household income, and especially so to mothers with special kids. I know of friends who have special kids, and two of them came to mind today. One of them has a son who has superb gift in art and another had struggled for more than 10 years to bring up two disabled kids along with two other normal kids on her own. Her husband left her many years back. Her heart is full of love, but the physical tiredness shown on her face proves that life had been tough for her.

Another special mother just came to mind, she was someone who treated me like her daughther. She said that to me just months before she took her own life many years back. She had been going through a tough time with her health problem. No one knows the internal turmoil in her. She is quite well to-do but was quite lonely at times too. She took in a baby as her own and brought up the child until he was old enough to take care of himself. And that was when she decided to end her life. It didn't came to mind when she had hinted on wanting to meet me to pass me all her clothings, some accessories and children's books. I have delayed meeting her until one day, when I decided to call her. Her only child picked up the phone and said, "I'm sorry to let you know that my mum is not around". I asked where has she gone to and when will she be back, only to realise that she has chosen to end her life just one night before the day I called her. I don't know why she came to thoughts today. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about her....

To my mum and all mothers out there, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY and God bless you.

One two three four five, once I caught 3 fishes alive..

2011-04-17T09:45:00.005+08:00

Some friends has called us up yesterday afternoon to go fishing. I really didn't want to go as it has been drizzling the whole of yesterday and it was such a nice day to stay home and rest.

The kids were excited though. It would be Brendan's first fishing trip and Eryn's second. It would be my first time going too (not taken into consideration the "fishing" at the big longkang/drain near by grandma's house when I was young). I had to reluctantly drag myself to go. Afterall, majority wins.

So, off we go to the private fish farm, located somewhere near Broga in Semenyih. Surprisingly, the rain stopped the moment we reached there. We had wanted to stop by the rabbit farm on the way there but it was closed.

It turned out to be quite a pleasant trip actually. I caught three fishes - TWO "nim yue / lim yue" (aka "wallagonia attu" or ikan tapah in BM) and ONE "sang yue" (aka freshwater snakehead fish or ikan haruan in the BM). The first fish I caught was a huge 4 kg "nim yue", but unfortunately, the fish farm owner didn't allows us to take it back and we had to throw both back into the pond. Everyone said that I had the luck today - a beginner's luck. hehehehe...

According to our friend, "nim yue" can grow up to be as heavy as I am! Apparently, this is a type of freshwater catfish species and is known to eat monkeys. It's considered to be one of the biggest freshwater fish and is quite expensive too. Was told that the market rate is more than RM100 per kg! It looks like a wierd looking catfish to me.

We kept the "sang yue" and brought it to a nearby restaurant to have it cooked for dinner and it was so, so, so fresh and yummy!

The 4kg "nim yue" (ikan tapah) I caught. My very first fish in my first fishing trip :-)

Walking around from pond to pond, searching for a good location. The first pond didn't bring us result. My two "nim yue" was caught in the third pond I selected while my "sang yue" was caught in the fourth pond I chose.

Some of the fake fishing bait our friends uses. More for the experts I suppose.

Our friend chose this little frog for my bait. It is a live one. Probably not pro enough to use those colourful plasticky fishes like the previous photo.

The first pond we went to. No fishes at all. Can you see what little Eryn is doing while everyone, including little Brendan, is busy fishing?

Here's a closer look at the princess-in-waiting, sitting down eating her biscuits and apple with her feet up on another stool. She hated the ants that kept coming to her feet.

Lots of "fei chow yue" (ikan talapia in BM) in some of the ponds. You can easily scoop them out with a net, but they're just not the type that we are looking for. Besides, this is meant for commercial selling, not nice for us to just take it without any effort.

This pond was being emptied and sprayed with water to clean it. If you see closely, there are some holes in the ground. We were told that these are fish nests. When the water is being sucked out to a smaller drain into another pond, the eggs and tiny fishes will be sucked out as well to grow in another pond.

and this was the "sang yue" I caught, with some reeling help from little Brendan. Beginners' luck!

Fresh, yummy "sang yue" cooked in soya sauce and garnished with shredded ginger and corianer leaves.

Eryn's self-entertaining passtime

2011-04-05T12:08:00.014+08:00

How does your kids entertain themselves when they're alone?

For my 6 years old Eryn, she plays imaginary house or be an imaginary princess or watches her favourite Barbie stories. At most times, she gets hooked on her drawing, or cutting up pieces of papers and glueing them back again, or do her own "fashion-designing" and colouring. She can go on and on doing these things when her kor-kor doesn't want to play with her or when kor-kor is in school.

Here are some of her latest stuffs...

Eryn's castle made from brown paper, a drawing torn into two and bits of papers. There's an angel in the sky. How sweet. Notice the drawing of the car? Can you see the words on it? It says "Buy This". And as for no. 5, I don't know what she meant by writing the word deb, while no.9 looks like a bra.

Here are the bits of papers and brochures that Eryn cuts up and pasting here and there. The green cardboard box at the bottom right is actually the packaging for a kids' Darlie toothpaste.

Torn papers glued together to look like a notebook. She says this is her menu order for her customers. The bottom piece of paper is folded and glued together and she says this is a secret letter.

Eryn designing some clothes (and a pair of boots!) for her cardboard paper doll. I'm surprised that she draws and colours these by herself! You can read about the DIY cardboard paper doll here.

Now guess, what's is the scroll about and what is in that Apollo box? Make a guess, before you scroll down for the answer (^__^)

Tah dah! The content of her scroll. A girl by the name of Arora, with a rainbow and a butterfly. Gotta ask her what are the two rectangular pieces beside the girl.

and, in the Apollo box, are the cardboard paper doll and clothes that I made for her a few months back. I didn't know she still keep this in her drawer.

And these are some of her "treasures" : her "jewellery-box", two wallets, a little princess pocket notbook, a cute wolly puppy handbag (its nose makes a sound when pressed), one of her McDonald toy which she pretends it to be her face powder in a tiny red bag (came as a door gift in a recent wedding we attended) and a handmade card with her name on it.

Potato craze

2011-03-25T16:02:00.002+08:00

There was once we had fried fish fillet with crumbs and lots of potatoes. And I do mean lots and lots of potatoes.

My dad made french fries from fresh potatos, from scratch, and Brendan loves it. He has been asking for kong-kong's homemade french fries, so I bought potatoes.

Then, the whole plans changed cos I made mash potatoes and grilled potatoes with cheese and butter toppings instead. Dessert was sweet potato soup.

A day full of potatoes! But it was a great change and the kids love it! But we have to forgo potatoes for a long time after that after the potato day. haha!

How babies come out?

2011-03-17T12:43:00.004+08:00

Last night, I heard a very funny and wierd conversation between my 6 y.o. gal and 8 y.o. boy. They saw a news highlight on Channel News Asia about a Japanese lady giving birth to a baby.

Brendan : Mei-mei, you see the baby looks so funny.
Eryn      : Last time when we were babies, we looked like that too.
Brendan : Why they didn't show where the baby come out from? Baby doesn't
                   come out from the 'du-chi' (navel). Actually, the doctor cut open the
                   stomach to take the baby out.
Eryn        : No lah, baby come out from 'petpet'.
Brendan : *silent, and thinking seriously about something*
Brendan : Hmm..... how to come out? the 'petpet' so small lah.
Mummy : *burst out laughing* (both Brendan and Eryn turned quickly to look
                   at mummy)
Eryn      : Mummy, why you laugh? (both their face were very serious and thinking
                hard about the baby issue)
Mummy : Some women deliver baby by cutting up the stomach. We call that
                 caesarean, or c-sect. Some women deliver baby naturally, like how I
                 delivered you two, which is through the vagina (had to explain that it's
                 not the 'petpet'). God created mothers to have a womb where the baby
                 is kept and fed (another long explanation), and grow safely. The womb
                 can expand according to the baby's growth and when it is time for the
                 baby to come out, the vagina will prepare itself and expand for the baby's
                 head to come out as well.
Eryn     : If the baby get stuck then how?
Mummy : then the dr will help to cut open a little, or maybe use forceps (again,
                  have to explain) or vacuum.
Brendan : hahahaha... BRRRRRRRRRRR .. take the vacuum cleaner and suck
                   the baby out meh??
Eryn       : hahahaha..... (pretend to hold vacuum cleaner and pulling action).
Mummy : sigh! No, this is a special type of machine ONNNLYYYYY meant to
                 deliver babies.
Brendan : Girl so poor thing hor. Have to pain-pain to give birth. Boy no need.
Eryn      : But your tummy so big leh, kor-kor. Like got baby like that...

Brendan and Eryn started laughing and continued doing their normal drawing activities.

Ngaku chips

2011-01-19T01:59:00.002+08:00

I bought about 3.5kg of ngakus (arrowroot head) today to have something to munch on.

I expected it to be such a tedious job - the cleaning, washing, drying, peeling, washing again, drying again, slicing, frying, etc... I started the cleaning just before I cook dinner around 6pm, and by the time the whole process is done, it was already 12:30am!! And that is only half of the ngakus I bought.

Because of the rush to clean up after dinner, slicing and all, I actually sliced off a teeny weeny bit of my thumb nail. With blood oozing out non-stop, hubby came to the rescue to help me dry those ngakus, while I search high and low for my missing handiplast and munch on some ngakus. *yummy*

For those who have the time and are keen to try, here's my recipe :

1) Clean and wash the ngakus and let it air dry.
2) Peel off the skin, wash and let it air dry again to remove traces of water.
    (One of my cousin leaves the skin intact for a 'crispier edge' while an
     aunty suggested putting it in the fridge to dry faster)
3) Slice thinly.
      (be careful not to slice your nail or fingers in the process. Would be good
      to leave the long 'tip' on the ngakus to make slicing easier)
4) Heat up oil. Add salt in oil. Fry till golden brown and drip the oil away.
      (it will be absorbed into the chips and you won't have traces of salt on
        your fingers).
     Control the fire so that it won't be too big (might overburn) or too small
       (might leave traces of oil on the chips).
5) Cool it and tah dah!!! Feast on it or pack in into air tight containers.

ngaku chips and raw ngakus

Mathematics

2011-01-10T11:49:00.000+08:00

People always say that chinese school students' maths is the best! I always thought that it was based on lots o f memorising of certain formulas.

I have to testify that Brendan's maths amazes me!

Sometime in December last year, we took the kids to a sushi place and halfway eating, Brendan told us how much we've eaten in RM (ringgit currency) based on all the different colour plates that we ate. The coloured plates show difference prices for each colour and the prices are not rounded up, with prices like RM4.90, RM5.90, RM6.90 and something like that.

Hubby and I stared at each other in disbelief and we too started calculating but at a rather slow pace. We didn't expect that to come from Brendan who was only in standard one last year! I only remember doing basic calculations when I was in standard one the last time.

We tested Brendan before by asking him questions like "how old would he, mei-mei and mummy be if Poh-Poh turns 70 years old" or "how old would his baby cousin and kong-kong be if his favourite Uncle K.Leong is 40 years old", etc.. He answered everything correctly, and that was last year. He showed me his formula but I just don't seem to understand his way of calculating cos it just doesn't seem to gel with my formula! But the answers are always correct!

I'm impressed!!

fresh nutmeg juice

2011-01-06T10:57:00.000+08:00

I love the fresh nutmeg juice in Penang. The locals call it 'lao hao'. I manage to pluck a few nutmeg during my recent trip there and boil them. I don't know how they prepare it, so I just simply boil them in a slow cooker, cool it later and add honey and 'assam' into it. Mmmm... I love it! In fact, I love the dried sugar coated nutmeg rind and the pickled nutmeg too, but find that the pickled one makes me cough if I eat too much of it.

However, my sis told me that the nutmeg juice is actually quite good for cough. Oh! I miss my 'lao hao peng'.

Here's what freshly plucked nutmegs look like. They taste quite bitter if eaten raw. The little red fruit there is actually a little promegrate freshly plucked from my tiny little garden and it taste quite ok and not sour at all :-)

Freshly plucked nutmeg and a little promegrate from my little garden.

School reopens

2011-01-05T23:59:00.003+08:00

School reopens 2 days back ago without any hiccups on our end. But I dread to think about the school books that Brendan has to carry everyday. I do wonder whether it's really compulsary to bring all the BM and Chinese text book, workbook, activity book, writing book, grammar book and exercise books every single day. I'm quite surprised that there's only about one hour of English per week. How to speak proper 'engrish' like that?

I've just bought a 'chiro-bag' which is meant to protect a child's back due to heavy luggage. Apparently, I was told by my friend who manufactured the bag that the chiropractor recommends that a school bag should not be more than 10% of a child's age! That would mean that Brendan have to take his Bakprotek bag and another smaller bag to school everyday.

Eryn on the other hand is happy to be back in school and everything seems quite ok for her. However, after her 3 Barbie shows a day throughout the school holiday, she still haven't really gotten over her Barbie fever yet.

Brendan seems quite excited to go to school after the long holiday. He says that the teacher started teaching on the second day and he even brough back homework on the second day itself. I see some other schools have yet to distribute books and some have yet to settle down, but here, my son, is already doing his writing and colouring on the second day itself.

Oh well, I can only pray that he copes well in school this year and most importantly, to enjoy school and be happy!

Brendan's books for today and Brendan doing his homework last night.

Yakkety yakkety yak.

2010-11-27T14:46:00.001+08:00

Eryn has been following me everywhere during this school holidays. She goes with me for my meetings, appointments, library, grocery shopping and everywhere else.

Eryn can talk and talk and talk. Her conversation ranges from the things she does, the show she watches, what she's learnt, what she likes, and the list goes on and on.

Recently, I was driving DH's car with Eryn when DH was out of town and one of our conversation goes like this :

Eryn   : Mummy, I think daddy is very lazy.
Mummy : Why do you say that?
Eryn   : You look at daddy's car. You just push this button and the door will open
              (she was referring to a small little pocket compartment where
               the little cover will open at the push of a button. It's not automatic,
               but it's designed to slowly open on its own due to a mechanism).
Mummy : haha... This car is created that way, Eryn.
Eryn   : But your car is not like that. So, that means you're not lazy. Your car must lift up the door to open it. Daddy's one you just use one finger to push it. That's why daddy is a lazy man.

At another time, one conversation goes like this :

Eryn   : Mummy, poh-poh says you cannot sms or talk or sing when you are driving.
Mummy : Ya, so we must concentrate on the road right?
Eryn   : Look! That car no manners one. Never slow down when the traffic light is amber. Why some people don't know how to stop or signal when they overtake other cars?
Mummy : Maybe because they are impatient and don't know the rules
Eryn   : Then they must go back to school because their brains are old. They cannot remember things.

On missing Brendan,

Mummy : Do you like Brendan to be here or in Kluang?
Eryn      : In Kluang
Mummy : Huh?! Why? You don't like kor-kor is it?
Eryn     : I like. But Kor-kor says he wants to go to Kluang to stay with poh-poh for a while, that's why I said that I like Brendan to be in Kluang.
Mummy : I see. At least you don't have to fight with kor-kor when kor-kor is not here
Eryn    : Ya, lor, no need to fight. But I also miss Brendan. We are children, so it is normal for us to play and fight together. Children sure fight one lah..
Mummy : 0 - <

Oh boy! She can yak from the time she wakes up in the morning to the time she goes to bed, and without her kor-kor around, I'll just have to entertain my little girl with all her funny conversations during this school holidays, when I'm driving, cooking, sleeping, even when I'm in the toilet!

Missing Brendan and pole dancing.

2010-11-25T11:34:00.001+08:00

It's the school holidays and Brendan took the bus home together with my mum approximately yesterday afternoon. And now, I'm beginning to miss him. He will be there for about a month for this school holiday while Eryn will be with me at home.

It's a funny feeling not having around this time though I don't really feel anything while he is at daycare and at school. He seldoms get to see grandma now since he's started primary school and grandma is his number one favourite person in the whole wide world! He was feeling extremely happy and was jumping and singing and twirling and wriggling last night and this morning, going, "Yeah yeah, I'm going back to Kluang, I'm going back to Kluang!!"....

Well, I'll be going back as well soon but just for a few days before Eryn and I come back home without Brendan. We'll have him back before school start and life would be back to normal - noisy, nerve-wrecking, nagging and all, but I kinda miss that now actually.

Quite recently, Brendan overheard the word "pole-dancing" on tv and asked me what is pole-dancing. I explained to him what it meant and how some people does it, using their thighs and legs to swing around the pole and using their body to hang upside down. He found that amusing.

Not long after that, we were at a hypermarket and Brendan suddenly ran to the pole and showed me his pose, asking me whether what he does is something like pole-dancing. I quickly took my hp camera out and snapped a pic of him. This will set as a memory in the many years to come as I reflect back on the things he said and do. haha... My funny boy!

Happy holidays everyone, and have a safe journey for those travelling for your hols.

Fireman BBQ Steamboat

2010-10-24T23:17:00.004+08:00

As mentioned in my previous post, we had a lovely dinner at the Fireman BBQ Steamboat buffet restaurant in Bandar Puteri Puchong last night. We were there with some friends and all together, there were 5 adults, 2 teenage kids and my two little kids. They calculated that as 7 adults and 2 "babies" (for billing purposes).

I have to say that we really enjoy the food and the company of friends there for 2.5 hours. The offerings are not that much compared to the steamboat buffets in Sunway, but last night's meal was so worth it. The charcoal grilled lamb shoulder steak and cockles ("sea hum") grilled by their staffs were very nice. We ordered plates after plates of the grilled lamb and cockles. We found the grilled beef steak to be a little too dry though.

One of our favourite have to be the freshly sliced beef that we have. It taste good after dipping it in the soup. And our favourite drink has to be their famous Fireman herbal drink which taste like sugarcane with bits of lotus root and water chessnut. It was so good we ordered three jugs of it after our initial rounds of fruit juices.

They're having a promotion until the end of this month at buy one free one. So, for a total of 7 adults, we were charged for only 4 adults. Another friend couldn't make it, and that's just too bad. Would have been more worth it if we had another adult in our group. Our two "babies" ate for free. The food came up to RM119.60 only for 7 adults and 2 children. The normal price per pax is priced at RM29.90++ (unlimited orders for the grilled lamb shoulder steak, beef steak, grilled cockels, sliced raw beef and everything else except drinks). And for the amount of lamb, yummy beef (the raw one for the soup and not the ready-grilled one) and food that we had, it was definitely well worth it.. The company of friends certainly made it more fun. The drinks we ordered came up to RM70!! That's a whooping figure.

Our little kids didn't eat much - just a few bites here and there and they're full. However, they managed to wallop 4 scoops of ice-creams each. sigh!

Here's some photos taken to whet your appetite :-) Photos are not that clear cos it was taken with my handphone.

Their location : No 28, Jln Puteri 1/4, Bandar Puteri . Call for reservations : 03-80510889.

Our first round. We had numerous rounds, probably a dozen or more? hehe..

grilled beef pepper stick. Nice, but a tad too dry. The grilled lamb was delicious though, but forgot to take the picture (too busy eating). We ordered a dozen plates of the lamb steak I think.

Grilled "sea hum" (cockles), with accompanying peanut and chilly sauce. I've not had my full hepatitis jab, so I didn't dare to eat too much of this. But the first 2-3 rounds of plates we ordered had big cockles. The next few batches had smaller cockles.

Now, this is good! The Fireman famous own concocted herbal drink, which taste like sugarcane with bits of lotus root and water chessnut. Refreshing and nice.

The freshly sliced beef which we loved. Taste really nice after "cooking" it in soup. The soup taste very sweet and nice after that.

Just some of the unlimited supply of food available. Shown above here is some fresh prawns.

What I like about this place here is that their chicken wing never seem to run out, unlike most steamboat buffet restaurants that we've visited.

Brendan turns 7 today.

2010-10-23T23:58:00.003+08:00

When I gave Brendan his birthday present last night, I saw my last 7 years flashed by just like that. It will never fail to amaze me each time I look back to the day I first become a mother.

Brendan had wanted a Wii but we are still quite reluctant to get it. Well, at least not for his birthday present. I told Brendan that we'll get the Wii one day but not for his birthday. Then he said, "Mummy, if you can't afford to get me the Wii, just get me some stationaries will do and oh, take me out kai-kai too. You can save the money first."

Awww.... Brendan is always so considerate when it comes to buying things, especially expensive stuffs. So, I got him some Ben 10 stationaries and a new Super Yoyo to replace the spoilt one I bought for him two months back.

I also ordered a cake from the kids' ex-nanny, who stays nearby. I wasn't particular on any design or taste and gave her the free hand to do a simple one for Brendan. She is a good cook and a good baker (she bakes lovely cookies and home-made mooncake to sell as well). We were surprised when she baked Brendan a cute cake instead. It has three little teddies on it. She has recently taken interest in fondant decoration and she said that this was her first time making a 3D cake. She actually gave us the cake for free as a gift for Brendan. That was so sweet of her..

We celebrated the night at the newly opened Fireman BBQ steamboat buffet restaurant in Bandar Puteri with some of hubby's close friends. Will blog about this place later.

Happy 7th Birthday, Brendan!

A cute cake given by a friend. Brendan's name was wrongly spelt with an "E" instead of an "A" but it didn't really matter for the special effort taken to make the cake and the fun and love that came with it.

Tons and tons of homework

2010-10-12T22:48:00.002+08:00

Lately, Brendan has been having a lot of homework and I noticed that this normally happens a few weeks before any school exam were to start. His last semester exam will be starting next week. Thus, I'm not surprised at the many homework he brought back home..

He normally tries to finish his homework in school in-between classes while waiting for the teacher, but there are times, the workload is extremely heavy! I really wonder why kind of education system is the government instilling into the kids. I mean, he's only in standard one! Hmm.. maybe I'm too laid back cos I remember not doing much homework in my primary school days.

Do I have a choice? Unfortunately, I don't really have one as private school is not within my means, and this is the only school I feel is more suitable for Brendan. Besides, he's coping quite well and doing quite well in his studies as well. In fact, he even enjoy doing his homework! sigh!

He used to have difficulty doing his homework when he first started primary school. Now, he doesn't need any guidance as he's used to it and would normally finish his homework before he reaches home. If he can't finish them in school, he will proceed to take out all his homework books the moment he reaches home and will want to finish them as fast as possible way before dinner and showering.

I have to always remind him that dinner and shower should come first before homework, but he's so engrossed in his homework until I have to start nagging at him to leave his homework and do it later. I'll tell him that it is ok to continue it the next morning if he can't finish.

What about your kids? Are they heavily laden with homework too?

Brendan does enjoy doing his homework. Wierd..

Playing dress-up with cardboard doll

2010-10-02T16:53:00.001+08:00

When I was younger, my main entertainment at home would be playing the piano, painting, drawing, playing board games and cycling whenever my mum permits. I seldom watch television and or listen to the radio. So, I'll find ways to entertain myself during the school holidays or the weekends.

One of my favourite game would be to draw my own cardboard dolls, and create various outfits for my little cardboard doll. I would then play dress-up with my sister using the cut-out cardboard dresses, bags and even hats.

I made one set for Eryn almost 2 years back but the doll and dresses very quickly torn up as she was only 2+ old at that time. So, recently, I got some old recycled cardboard boxes to draw a doll with accompanying clothes for her to play. Cheap, entertaining and she loves it! Now, she's asking for more dresses to mix and match.

Cardboard doll and dresses for Eryn

Just some of the samples

Eryn playing with with her cardboard doll set.

tummy pipe??

2010-09-29T12:17:00.004+08:00

Kids always say the darnest things. They say it sincerely. They ask you serious stuffs. They sit and think about what you say. And all these without them knowing that it sometimes get hilarious just hearing the things they say.

Here's what happened recently.

Eryn was staring at mummy using a pencil eyeliner to draw on mummy's eye lids.

Eryn :    Mummy, this one draw on people one ar?
Mummy : draw what on people?
Eryn :    Neeehhh.... why you use pencil to draw on yourself? Pencil is for drawing
               on paper lah.

Brendan about to take his bath yesterday morning.

Brendan : Mummy, must wash my pyjama or not?
Mummy : Yes, must wash your pyjama
Brendan : Which one? Shirt or pants?
Mummy : both lah...
Brendan : then you must put "s"
Mummy : What ass?
Brendan : You must say Pyjamasssssssss and not pyjama. Must got "s".

It's so hard getting the kids to sit down and eat properly and at times, they take such a loooong time to finish their food! One particular night, we were talking about the importance of finishing their meals.

Mummy : You have to learn how to eat yourself and finish all your food.
                  Mummy have to spend time to cook for you all. Not many
                  people are lucky to have nutritious home cooked food you know.
Eryn :    Ya, I know, but mummy, my mouth so small. Your mouth bigger that's
                 why can finish faster mah. So you feed me can?
Mummy : Are you still a baby? No, right? When you were a baby, I fed you cos
                   you didn't know how to eat on your own yet.
Brendan : Mei-mei, you know baby got tummy pipe.
Eryn :    What tummy pipe?
Brendan : We all got 'du-chi' (navel). Why baby one is tummy pipe?
Mummy : I don't know what tummy pipe you are talking about.
Brendan : neh.... the baby inside tummy got one long, long pipe.
Mummy : Oh! That is called the umbilical cord. It's for the food to be transfered
                   from the mummy to the baby.
Eryn : Why? Baby got no mouth meh?
Brendan : How the food go through the ambicolor cord?
Mummy : It's UM-BER-LEE-CAL-CORRRRD
Brendan : So difficult to say. Tummy pipe easier.

And so, the conversation continues into the night. And both asking me tons of questions at the same time and then started arguing, insisting on me answering their questions first!! And I almost lose my patience trying to explain.

Food excursion (part 3, final part)

2010-09-25T00:03:00.001+08:00

I guess I just have to include this in as this is the first time I ate something different.

My brother-in-law took us to this lovely restaurant famous for its steamed fish and kway teow dish. We went round and round in circles just looking for the place. He had to call a friend to ask for the location but was given the wrong road. Just as we were about to give up, we passed by this place at the lane next to where we were supposed to go. Luckily my sister spotted it as we were passing by. It's located on the ground floor of two cramped shoplots.

Parking was a little difficult as it was also drizzling. The place was packed with people and we had to wait for about 10 minutes before we had a table. We order three simple dishes for our group fo 4 adults and 3 children.

Steamed fish with big pieces of kway teow, cut and sprinkled with some fried garlic. This is something special for us and it's quite delicious.

Fish mee hoon claypot soup. Cooked with lots of serai (lemongrass). The dish smells good and the fish is very fresh. The kids love this very much. They had second helping too.

Stir-fried bittergourd and roast pork.

Restaurant details :

Wang Chau Jun

Address : 73, Jalan Rangoon (it's a one way street, and the restaurant is on your left)

Business hours : 8am – 2.30 pm, closed on Tuesday
Contact number : 012-5559046 & 012-4709549

Food excursion (part 2)

2010-09-23T01:06:00.004+08:00

As mentioned in my previous post, going to Penang is all about food. My sis stays in Penang and therefore, we go there at least once a year.

Having a seafood dinner at our usual haunt in Teluk Kumbar. So, I won't be writing about our lovely dinner meal. You can read some of our seafood experience in our older posts here and here.

My sis loves to tapao (pack) back for us goodies such as ice-kacang, cendol, rojak, etc.. I was yearning for the muar chee this round, but didn't manage to find any. I've also not tried the famous Nasi Kandar in Penang which my sister claims to be nice and cheap compared to KL.

Here's some of the hawker food we tried this round. Makes me hungry just looking at the photos.

Hubby insisted on going for the char kway teow at Macalister Road after our tapao-ed lunch meal of assam laksa. Didn't take a picture of this cos we've been eating this all the time whenever we are in Penang. The shop is located somewhere near Sunshine Square.

Anyway, topped with huge prawns and crab meat, the char kway teow smell quite fragrant, which I believe could be due to the smell of peanut oil. However, I find this too oily for my liking. Waiting time : 25 minutes

DH insisted that we must try the fried orhh kueh (or is it char kway kak?) at the same kway teow stall in Macalister Road. We had to wait. I don't really fancy this. Something seems to be missing in this. I guess it's the chai-poh or maybe the texture of the kueh. Waiting time : another 10 minutes after our char kway teow.

One of my favourite! Duck thigh mee suah herbal soup at Super Tanker hawker centre.

This has to be one of the best char orh chien (fried oyster). The oyster is quite juicy and succulent. Also located at Super Tanker.

Penang char kway teow in Super Tanker. I like this better than the one at Macalister Road. Still a tad too oily, but not as oily as the earlier on we ate.

Chai tau kueh (fried white radish cake). Quite nice, but forgotten where was this taken.

Hokkien mee (prawn mee) and loh mee. The loh mee here is in a starchy soup with black vinegar, eaten with a mixture of chilli and garlic sauce.

One of hubby's breakfast in the second morning we're there - kway teow t'hng. Quite tasty, but I personally find it a little salty. They gave lots of minced pork in it. Will try this again the next time I'm here.

My sis had this for breakfast in that same morning. Capati laden with sambal and dhall curry. I love the sambal!!

Toast bun with egg and cheese for the kids. They love this and so do I! hehe

We had this for lunch on our third day there. I think it's hakka mee. It's definitely something different from all the Penang hawker food we had. This is surprisingly quite good. We ordered fishballs and some stuffed ladies fingers, chillies, brinjal and bitter gourd. We also tried their braised pork vinegar. A very satisfying meal.

Oh dear, I think I have to go to visit my sis in Penang again soon after writing about all these. Yummy! Yummy!

note : photos are not that clear as it's taken with my old, humble Sony Ericsson handphone.

Food excursion (part 1 - Foh San dim sum)

2010-09-23T00:12:00.002+08:00

This is actually a delayed post. We went to Penang during weekend leading to Merdeka for a short break. And our visits to Penang is always about food. After all, we've been there numerous times, all we would do is 'makan, makan, makan', and of course visit the fish aquarium cos the kids love seeing the turtles and the fishes swimming in the aquarium.

Anyway, back to the start of this journey. We made a pit-stop in Ipoh for breakfast, aiming for the newly Foh San dim sum restaurant. The last time we were in Ipoh last December, the place was closed. This time, we headed there and was surprised at the huge crowd there, plus the long queue entering the restaurant.

There's 6 of us (3 adults consisting of me, DH and my sis and my 2 kids and little niece). We finally got a place to sit after waiting for about 15 minutes, that also because we shared a big table with another group.

Ordering is mostly on a self-service basis. You either pick your orders from the counter or from the trolley that is seen being pushed around. Hubby tried to pick the food that we don't normally get in KL. This place is crazy! It's really huge and beautiful! Don't know why my pictures of the interior doesn't really turn out well. I guess it must be due to my handphone setting (ya, I took all photos with my handphone). So, what you see would be mostly food, food and more food.

DH picked this up first since it was the easiest for us to reach. An auntie was going around with a push-cart and so we jumped straight for this. The chee cheong fun was such a pretty sighed, with some siew pak choy at the side of the plate. Stuffed with some prawns and topped with fried shallots and sesame seed, this was kinda nice.

Well, since we were in Ipoh, I had to ask for my morning coffee and so I asked for the famous Ipoh white coffee, but was disappointed that they don't serve coffee at all. They only serve tea (and plain water) there. The tea comes in a nice-looking porcelain pot with accompanying little cups.

DH has been missing for a while and the kids are getting a little restless. And then, voila! lots of dishes started coming to us - (clockwise, from top left) fried yam ball, fried peanut and sesame ball (don't really know what it's called), dumping topped with picked ginger and dipped in black vinegar (this is one of my favourite) and a big stuffed bread pao with mean, and mixed veg, which I find quite yummy.

Of course when we eat dim sum, we need to have the chilli and the sweet sauce. I kinda like the chilli dip. Probably because I'm too hungry?

More food coming this time - (clockwise, from top left) har gao aka as steamed prawn mini dumplings, my kids' favourite char siew pao, siew mai and fried fish balls for the kids.

I love these two dumplings. I don't know what the one of the left is called. It's stuffed with some sweet fillings The one on the right is mini-dumpling filled with chives (ku-chai). They're very nice..

The lor mai gai (glutinuous rice with chicken and mushroom) is not too bad, but I've eaten better ones in KL.

We had wanted to try many other creative looking dim sum and the dessert but were too stuffed.

Can't remember the price for this, but I know it seems a little pricey for me. I would say it's a unique and satisfying experience for me (minus the fact that there's no coffee served!)

Here's the location of Foh San : No. 51, Jalan Leong Sin Nam, 30300 Ipoh.

DIY lantern

2010-09-19T19:55:00.000+08:00

Last Friday, Brendan came home from school with some colour paper and a basic craft guide to make lantern. This was part of their art class project.

This was to instill the creativity in the kids to adopt ideas so they could further explore participating in an up-coming lantern competition in school.

We had a residents coomunity gathering last night and I was able to gather some ideas after being impressed by the many creative submissions using all sort of recycled stuffs like egg cartons, alumunium tin, mineral water bottle, yogurt packs, woven rattans, paper plates, wooden chopsticks, transparent coloured paper and even DIY battery operated lanterns!

Anyway, Brendan was so into making his paper lantern that I had to forced him to take his dinner first, shower before he continued. He eventually got tired and asked me to help him. We managed to finish the task together the next morning.

I suddenly realised that I've been lacking in doing craft work with my kids after the lantern making session with Brendan. Gosh, I guess I have to start exploring it again after being so complacent al these while.

Brendan and his half-way done paper lantern

Fixing on the 'pin' to the bottom of the cardboard for putting candle.

Tah dah!! Brendan's end-result.

Not too bad for a first-timer huh? He's not willing to put a candle in it for fear of his hard-work all burning away.

Here's a pic of some lovely home-made mooncake goodies made by the kids' ex-nanny. Too cute to eat.. My kids just love the plain mooncake. Gosh, I feel so 'jelak' over it, but they can just go on eating them everyday.

Here's wishing everyone a wonderful mid-autumn festival!

Selamat Hari Raya to all..

2010-09-07T21:33:00.000+08:00

Daddy-daughter went fishing

2010-07-26T11:03:00.002+08:00

Two weekends ago, DH and Eryn went for a malay wedding lunch. Brendan didn't want to go as he dislikes crowded and noisy places. So, he followed me for my business unit meeting.

Anyway, after the wedding lunch, DH's friend and his friend's wife invited DH and Eryn to go fishing somewhere in Semenyih, and they only came back home after dinner! Eryn was so happy go fishing for the first time that she got daddy to call me to say she's going to catch me a big fish.

Oh well, it was a gloomy day and I wasn't particularly pleased with the fishing trip as it was drizzling a little. Eryn came back home feeling extremely exhilirated and tired and with many, many big mosquitoe bites on her legs!

DH cleaned the fish and kept it in the freezer. We steamed it two days later and it was extremely yummy! The flesh was smooth and was fresh too! There wasn't any smell at all. Scroll down for the simply cooking method.

~~Fisherman~~ Fishergirl trying her luck for the catch of the day.

Eryn posing with one of the catfish (ikan patin) caught alive.

Taking a break. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Our simple home-cooked Ikan Patin :

1) Fry finely chopped garlic and shredded ginger. Put aside. Keep the oil to be used later.

2) After cleaning fish thoroughly, pour some hot water over the fish to remove excess slime from the body.

3) Steam fish (without any garnishing or flavouring).

4) Meanwhile, prepare sauce for gravy - mixture of soya sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil.

5) Heat the balance oil used to fry the garlic and ginger. Once heated, turn off the fire, and pour in sauce mixture.

6) After fish is cook, pour away excess water in the bowl. Add fried garlic and fried ginger on top of the fish and immediately pour the sauce mixture on top and all over the fish.

7) Garnish with chinese parsley and serve hot. *yummy*

(we forgot to take pictures of the steamed fish as everyone gobbled it up very quickly)

Why Never to ask Favors from Designers

2010-07-21T11:12:00.005+08:00

I got this in my email inbox this morning and it is so hilarious that I just have to share it.

Apparently, it's about a lady called Shannon who lost her cat and has asked her graphic designer, David, to make a poster of her lost cat to be circulated around.

Read on and enjoy!

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From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.15am

To: David Thorne

Subject: Poster

I opened the screen door yesterday and my cat got out and has been missing since then so I was wondering if you are not to busy you could make a poster for me. It has to be A4 and I will photocopy it and put it around my suburb this afternoon.

This is the only photo of her I have. she answers to the name Missy and is black and white and about 8 months old. missing on Harper street and my phone number.

Thanks Shan.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.26am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
That is shocking news. Luckily I was sitting down when I read your email and not half way up a ladder or tree. How are you holding up? I am surprised you managed to attend work at all what with thinking about Missy out there cold, frightened and alone... possibly lying on the side of the road, her back legs squashed by a vehicle, calling out "Shannon, where are you?"
Although I have two clients expecting completed work this afternoon, I will, of course, drop everything and do whatever it takes to facilitate the speedy return of Missy.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.37am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Poster

yeah ok thanks. I know you dont like cats but I am really worried about mine. I have to leave at 1pm today.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.17am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
I never said I don't like cats. Once, having been invited to a party, I went clothes shopping beforehand and bought a pair of expensive G-Star boots. They were two sizes too small but I wanted them so badly I figured I could just wear them without socks and cut my toenails very short. As the party was only a few blocks from my place, I decided to walk. After the first block, I lost all feeling in my feet. Arriving at the party, I stumbled into a guy named Steven, spilling Malibu & coke onto his white Wham 'Choose Life' t-shirt, and he punched me. An hour or so after the incident, Steven sat down in a chair already occupied by a cat. The surprised cat clawed and snarled causing Steven to leap out of the chair, slip on a rug and strike his forehead onto the corner of a speaker; resulting in a two inch open gash. In its shock, the cat also defecated, leaving Steven with a wet brown stain down the back of his beige cargo pants. I liked that cat.
Attached poster as requested.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.24am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah thats not what I was looking for at all. it looks like a movie and how come the photo of Missy is so small?

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.28am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
It's a design thing. The cat is lost in the negative space.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.33am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Thats just stupid. Can you do it properly please? I am extremely emotional over this and was up all night in tears. you seem to think it is funny. Can you make the photo bigger please and fix the text and do it in colour please. Thanks.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.46am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
Having worked with designers for a few years now, I would have assumed you understood, despite our vague suggestions otherwise, we do not welcome constructive criticism. I don't come downstairs and tell you how to send text messages, log onto Facebook and look out of the window. I am willing to overlook this faux pas due to you no doubt being preoccupied with thoughts of Missy attempting to make her way home across busy intersections or being trapped in a drain as it slowly fills with water. I spent three days down a well once but that was just for fun.
I have amended and attached the poster as per your instructions.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.59am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

This is worse than the other one. can you make it so it shows the whole photo of Missy and delete the stupid text that says missing missy off it? I just want it to say lost.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.14am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.21am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah can you do the poster or not? I just want a photo and the word lost and the telephone number and when and where she was lost and her name. Not like a movie poster or anything stupid. I have to leave early today. If it was your cat I would help you. Thanks.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.32am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Awww

Dear Shannon,
I don't have a cat. I once agreed to look after a friend's cat for a week but after he dropped it off at my apartment and explained the concept of kitty litter, I kept the cat in a closed cardboard box in the shed and forgot about it. If I wanted to feed something and clean faeces, I wouldn't have put my mother in that home after her stroke. A week later, when my friend came to collect his cat, I pretended that I was not home and mailed the box to him. Apparently I failed to put enough stamps on the package and he had to collect it from the post office and pay eighteen dollars. He still goes on about that sometimes, people need to learn to let go.
I have attached the amended version of your poster as per your detailed instructions.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.47am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Awww

Thats not my cat. where did you get that picture from? That cat is orange. I gave you a photo of my cat.
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.58am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Awww

I know, but that one is cute. As Missy has quite possibly met any one of several violent ends, it is possible you might get a better cat out of this. If anybody calls and says "I haven't seen your orange cat but I did find a black and white one with its hind legs run over by a car, do you want it?" you can politely decline and save yourself a costly veterinarian bill.
I knew someone who had a basset hound that had its hind legs removed after an accident and it had to walk around with one of those little buggies with wheels. If it had been my dog I would have asked for all its legs to be removed and replaced with wheels and had a remote control installed. I could charge neighbourhood kids for rides and enter it in races. If I did the same with a horse I could drive it to work. I would call it Steven.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.07pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Please just use the photo I gave you.
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.22pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.34pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

I didnt say there was a reward. I dont have $2000 dollars. What did you even put that there for? Apart from that it is perfect can you please remove the reward bit. Thanks Shan.
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.42pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Can you just please take the reward bit off altogether? I have to leave in ten minutes and I still have to make photocopies of it.
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.56pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 1.03pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Fine. That will have to do.

I like it when mummy is funny

2010-06-18T12:10:00.001+08:00

A few mornings ago, I overheard a conversation about me! My kids were talking about me at the breakfast table.

I've been getting a little naggy with them lately, always rushing them to brush their teeth, drink their milk, change their clothes, shower, eat, go to school/daycare, etc... The kids take me for granted. I can scold at them but they'll only get scared for a while, and then off they go, playing together, running, screaming and fight and it gets on my nerves when they over do it and starts to cry and whine. Drives me up the wall!

They're more scared of their father, despite him being the more down-to-earth, gentle and calm. Yup, my nice, gentle and down-to-earth hubby is capable of whacking, pinching, pushing, threatening them to the storeroom.

Anyway, back to the conversation, and this is how it goes.

Eryn      : Kor-kor, just now mummy so funny hor! hehehehe
Brendan : Ya, mummy sometimes makes us laugh, especially when she tells us
                  those funny bedtime stories with her funny, funny actions.
Eryn      : But mummy likes to scold us also. Sometimes she likes to scold us.
                  Sometimes she is so funny! I like when mummy is funny.
Brendan : hahahahaha.... ya lor...
Eryn      : I like mummy so much.

Mummy was quite touched at their little conversation, but realised that time is running late. So, I have to start yelling at them to finish up. After a while, Eryn came and gave me a big, tight hug and said "I love you, mummy!"

five and mischievous

2010-06-13T23:22:00.002+08:00

Eryn turned 5 on the first of this month. She has been getting very mischievous and trying to gain everyone's attention by whining and getting into her baby talk.

When she's in the mood, she'll dance and move her jelly-like body. Sometimes, she tries to get cute by giving us her cheeky pose and twinkling smile. She would sometimes creep up to me, gives me a tight hug and not let me go.

That's Eryn, my little girl. Smart, cheeky, cute, adorable and very, very mischievous. She gets on my nerves at times, but she knows how to get her way out of 'difficult' situations. sigh!

She loves scribbling and drawing and she has different phases in her drawings. For one whole month in May, she drew and coloured faces in coloured boxes with tons of "I Love You" on sheets and sheets of papers. Very quickly after that, her enthusiasm died down and I do wonder what's next.

Just before this drawing, she was into writing numbers and drawing lots and lots of lines, just like the top left sheet of paper in the picture above. She claims that the numbers mean something. Sometimes, she'll draw lots of lines and request that I fill in the empty spaces for her when she goes to school. And when she's back from school, she'll ask if I've done my 'homework'. She'll take the same sheet of paper and then proceed to fill in the numbers herself. That enthusiasm died down too after about a month or two.

Her recent half year results were all "A"s. The principal told me that she has nothing to talk to me about cos her results are just simply good. Her teacher told me she loves to talk in class. She can yak and yak and yak non-stop - in school and at home. Oh boy! There's one particular boy, the biggest and fattest in class, she claims, who likes her and would only wants to go to school if he gets to sit with Eryn. Now, this pair makes a bad 'couple' in class cos they'll both talk in class. So, the teacher split the two up. Eryn sits in front and the poor boy sits at the back. They had the opportunity to partner with each other for a school trip to the High 5 bread factory though.

Anyway, life is so beautiful despite the ups and downs. Just like icing beautifying a cake, my kids beautify my life.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-07T18:34:00.003+08:00

I received a lovely card from Eryn two days ago. She handed it to me and said that it was for me. I was touched by her simple yet meaningful gesture. Below is what the card looks like.

Yesterday, she left another mother's day card on my laptop. She didn't say a word about it and had quietly put it on my table. She was a little naughty yesterday and I had scolded her. So, later that night, when I opened my laptop, I saw that tiny little card. I touched my little heart and when she came downstairs to drink a glass of water, she came to me and whispered to me, "Mummy, did you get my card? I made it for you"

Brendan woke up this morning asking for some colour papers. I asked him what it is for and he said that he was going to make me a mother's day card. He didn't manage to make it cos his teacher called me to say that he was feeling unwell. So I rushed to school to pick him up and he told me, "Mummy, sorry, I didn't get to make you a mother's day card". awww... so thoughtful of him.

Being a mother changed my perception of life. I left a wonderful working life to start fresh in a totally different area to have more time more myself and for my children. It was never an easy journey but I'm learning and taking it one day at a time. From being a new mum, to those crazy breastfeeding days, to the ups and the downs and many more to come, I gave up my 9-5 career (more like 7-9) so that I could be available for my kids whenever they need me, just like how my mum was always there to meet to our basic needs.

To all mothers and grandmothers, and especially to my mum and sis, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY. Here's a poem I found on the net dedicated just for you.

Your mother is always with you...

She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street.

She's the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks.

She's the cool hand on your brow when you're not well.

Your mother lives inside your laughter.

She's crystallized in every tear drop.

She's the place you came from,

your first home.

She's the map you follow

with every step that you take.

She's your first love

and your first heart break.

and nothing on earth can separate you.

Not time, Not space,

Not even death,

will ever separate you

from your mother.

You carry her inside of you...

Std One Assessment

2010-05-05T20:43:00.000+08:00

I just don't get it. What's with our school syllabus, specifically, chinese school syllabus. I get crazy just looking at Brendan's book. I mean, he's in standard one this year and his level of education is similar to that of mine when I was in standard three, I think. I was told that this instill the discipline in them, thus they are hardworking and committed and that's why they make superb businessman and disciplined in their adult lives.

How can he comprehend the 'sukukatas' when he doesn't even understand the BM word? How can he write sentences in Mandarin when he had just started school not too long ago.

I'm even more surprised that he enjoys his subjects, especially maths, mandarin writing and science!

As I reflect back to my school days, I remember that I was an all rounder, and I enjoyed sports and music. I represented school in netball and atheltics and I got distinction most of the time in my music classes. I took my music in diploma when I was in form 4. Having said that, I was never good in studies. I was always one of those who is always at the bottom of the class. Well, not too bad, considering the fact that I'm always in the top class of the school. So, what the heck!

Hubby is worst! He ponteng school, his results were never good. But he turned out to be one hard-working chap now and good in the job that he's doing apparently. hehe..

Now back to my kids. I've been delaying sending my kids for tuitions or music/dance classes, swimming and badminton classes, but I'm just so not up to it. They have the energy, but not me. They can do all that later if they want, so I'm not going to stress myself to send them here and there for now. *bad mummy*

Oh well. Brendan's half year exam is starting next week. His daycare centre has been reviewing his school work and they recently did an assessment based on 21 standard one 2009 half year exam papers from various schools in PJ (SJKC Han Ming, SJKC Serdang Baru, SJKC Lick Hung, SJKC Yak Chee and another school) . I'm very surprised at his achievement! He proudly told me he did it all by himself. No guidance, no reference and no copying. And he wants more! Oh dear... I'm going nuts just looking at this papers.

Here's the summary of his so-called trial exam done at the daycare centre.

English - 3 papers from different schools. Marks : 100, 96 and 100.
Maths - 4 papers from different schools. Marks : 95, 100, B+ and B
Chinese - 4 papers from different schools. Marks : 89, 98, A+ and A+
BM (Penulisan) - 2 papers from different schools. Marks : 78 and A+
BM (Pemahaman) - 3 papers from different schools. Marks : 78, 93 and 92.
Science - 4 papers from different schools. Marks : 100, A, A and A.

Great job, Brendan!

Fairy-dance..

2010-04-26T01:00:00.001+08:00

Eryn received a pair of pink butterfly 'wings' and wand from Auntie Rina and was extremely excited over it! She wore it for almost the whole day for the past few days, pretending to be a fairy.

I had wanted to try to DIY it myself but was just too lazy to get it done. I guess my wish came true! hehehe... At least I don't have to make it now.

Eryn pretended to fly and dance around in her wings and taking her wand to create imaginary magic tales. It was so much fun just watching her dance and flutter around like a little butterfly.

Such a pretty and happy sight.

shhhh... the dolls are sleeping

2010-04-19T23:26:00.002+08:00

I've been noticed some strange things for the past few months, and decided to take some pics cos I find it quite amusing each time I see different 'styles'.

I'm actually referring to how Eryn places her dolls to sleep. Most of the time, when I want to sit on the sofa to watch tv after the kids have gone to sleep, I'll notice some pillows stacked up on each other. On a closer look, this is something that I see :

Yup, that's how Eryn 'covers' her barbie doll to sleep. This barbie doll was a hand-me-down from hubby's friend. Initially, I thought nothing about it until I keep seeing it happening each time I sit down to watch TV. In this photo, the barbie doll is sandwiched between two pillows in one corner of the sofa. Sometimes, it will be squeezed with 3 to 4 pillows. Sometimes, it's just a cloth.

Well, here's another scenario to another doll of hers :

Yup, you see it right. It's the same pillow covering the above doll which I bought when she was a little toddler. This time, treating it like a blanket. It's also on the sofa.

Here's another one of her doll, also a hand-me-down from hubby's friend. This one below is a little special cos' it sleeps in a little rattan basket, fitting it nicely. No blanket though.

Just 10 minutes ago, I saw another wierd position for her barbie doll on my working table! This is getting really wierd. It's placed on my table, with a used A4 paper as a blanket.

I'm wondering where and what it'll be next.

Thank you, please come again.

2010-03-30T23:51:00.004+08:00

My 6 and a half years old son, Brendan, can read very well and he likes reading signboards, posters, names of shops and anything that captures his razor-sharp eyes whenever we are out for meals, shopping, or merely window-shopping. And yes, that includes receipts too!

The first time he saw a receipt with the words "Thank you, please come again", he said that we should go back again to the shop we were visiting. He kept insisting and reminding us to go to the shop again until daddy got fed-up and told him to just keep quiet. He then showed us the receipt and said that we really have to come back again as what was mentioned in the receipt (see pic below).

Nowadays, he'll still continue telling us that whenever he spots the words on our shopping receipts and then asked why would they want us to go back again?

Last night, we went to Tesco to do some grocery shopping and Brendan started screaming, "Mummy! Mummy! We must buy this and this and this and this!!" Oh well, of course I said "No" but he kept pushing for me to buy the various types of frozen food in the freezer and went on showing us what was shown on the freezer. The words "Must Buy" were pasted on it! Eryn quickly ran to the freezer and started spelling out the words loudly and joined in the chorus with her brother, "Must buy! Must buy!" hahahaha.

Brendan, ooooh Brendan!!

Pizza making afternoon

2010-03-25T17:02:00.000+08:00

We spent a few days in my parents' place in the recent school holidays.

One of the evening, we went to one of my aunt's house to make pizza. We got the dough from one of my uncle who owns a bakery. The dough was left-overs from making bread and there were so many of it that we actually made almost ten trays of pizzas, big and small.

A few years back, my brother bought some Formaggio reggiano cheese and Napoli salami direct from Italy during his one year working assignment there. The cheese had a strong smell but was quite nice when eaten, while the salami, flavoured with peppercorns was a tad too salty and a little chewy.

Together, my mum, two aunts, one cousin and me made our versions of pizza which was basically salami and the cheese, spreaded with tomato puree and topped with green pepper, button mushrooms and big onions. and another version with sausages, big onions and mix vegetables and another version in a big tray with added canned pineapple.

Turns out pretty, don't they? They taste yummy too!

before

after

Brendan and value of money

2010-03-17T16:36:00.003+08:00

DH and I don't believe in pampering our kids too much especially when it comes to toys. DH's friends gave us a lot of lego sets and lots of little cars as their sons have all grown up. Brendan loves playing with those toys and masak-masak with his little sister as well. Eryn is comfortable playing those little boy's toys with Brendan, but mostly love dressing up her Barbie doll, also a hand-me-down, or playing house with another baby doll.

Last night, I saw Brendan staring and looking at a tiny lego brochure and started asking me what are those toys for and the difficult pronounciation of the names of some of those toys. After a while, this is how the conversation goes ;

Mummy : Brendan, which one is your favourite in this brochure?
Brendan : Hmm..... I think this one.
Mummy : Ok, what if mummy buy one of this for you?
Brendan : It's ok, I don't want one.
Mummy : Well, I can buy you a small one, but you must take good care of it.
Brendan : No, lah... Don't want lah, I scared afterwards you got not enough money to use.

Well, I'm stunned. I wonder where did he get that kind of idea?

Another scenario in Toys R Us ;

Eryn : Mummy, I like Toys R Us, they have so many toys. Can we stay here longer? I like this one, mummy.
Mummy : Oh! This is so expensive! You all can see but don't ask me to buy. I'll get what I want to get for you all.
Brendan : Mei-Mei, don't simply buy lah. All these toys very expensive one. Afterwards you spoil it then wasted only. We go home and play cars and masak-masak k?
Eryn : I don't want!! I don't want!! I want to stay here longer!!
Brendan : Come lah mei-mei. Mummy wants to go to work already lah. We stay here so long already.

And another scenario;

Brendan : Mummy, how much is a car? I got a lot of money here. RM10 enough or not? Your car so old already lah, I buy for you ok?
Mummy : haha... RM10 only? Where got enough? You need a lot a lot of money.
Brendan : How many zeroes you need?
Mummy : At least 4 zeroes. Maybe one 8, and 4 zeroes.
Brendan : Which is more expensive? Car or house? I buy a house leh?
Mummy : House even more expensive. You need 5 zeroes.
Brendan : But house no need to pump petrol. It should be cheaper.

Sigh! That's my boy and his occasional money talk. Kind of reminds me of my brother when he was young.

Berjaya Hills

2010-03-15T20:54:00.003+08:00

It's Brendan's official first school term break. We have no plans to go anywhere since hubby is away for one whole week in Germany.

However, we went up to Berjaya Hills (previously known as Bukit Tinggi) on Saturday evening, reaching there at almost 5pm, and came back the next morning as hubby had to rest and then pack to leave to the airport on the same night. It's a short getaway, but nevertheless, a fun trip for the kids.

For the kids, most outing, no matter how boring for us adults, would always be fun for the kids. There's nothing much to do there and we managed to take only 2 hours to walk around Colmar Tropicale and to the Japanese Tea Garden. There's some games stall, a kids play area, some restaurants, a tower for the full view of the Colmar Tropicale area and a nice pond with two white swans and two black swans. The kids enjoyed watching the swans very much.

I love the serenity at the Japanese Garden. We could hear plenty of birds and there were lots of bird-watchers and professional photographers up there, at 3,500 feet above sea level, trying to catch a glimpse and get a good photography shot of the birds there. It was 20 minutes to closing time. We had to quickly climb up the very steep hill just to see the Japanese Garden. We took a quick 20 minutes walk and after that, as we were halfway down the hill to the car park, it began to pour!! The rain just came so suddenly that we got ourselves wet.

We took a drive down to Kampung Bukit Tinggi for dinner. The claypot fish was our favourite. Hubby loves it so much that he's already planning for another trip with a few friends just to go there to eat and enjoy the fresh air.

A super-short getaway, but a fun and nice one.